Kasteelbier Donker

Brewed by Brouwerij Van Honsebrouck
Style: Belgian Strong Ale
Ingelmunster, Belgium

2008-06-26 from bottle: Dry and crisp aroma with some chocolate. Deep amber color with light brown head. Sweet, yet dry finish…hot with some dried fruit. Thin and fizzy body.

Pours a dark and cloudy mahoganny with a small tan head. Smell is strong, and I can’t decide if I like it or not. It is very earthy, with mustard greens and some earthy hops. There are some fruit smells in there too, like raisins and figs. Flavor is incredibly sweet. Brown sugar and raisins dominate. There is a lot of alcohol in the smell and cutting through the flavor. Creamy finish, but with something tickling my throat and making it hard to swallow. I find the alcohol and sweetness to be overbearing. Otherwise this is a tasty beer.

Appearance: Redish brown. Not much head, not even when warmer. Aroma: Malt and alcohol. Maybe some fruit. Vinous. Taste: Vinous. Alcohol, warming. Fruity. Info: 330ml bottle, 27/9-2006, 100/500

Appearance: Brown, but big, clear red highlights all the way through when held up to the light. Nice big fluffy head that reminds me of Westveleteren’s. Aroma: Tart sour. That’s it, no hops, no malts, pure sour. Flavor: Wow... this is gonna sound weird, but really reminds me of westy 12. Same creamy, bubble gum cocoaness. It’s absolutely delicious. I don’t get any of the sour I had the aroma. This is a crazy ass beer, another astonishing example of belgians practicing the art of brewing. Almost get a rootbeer thing going on after a few minutes. Mouthfeel: Creamy, malty residual sweetness, medium/full carb. Overall: Absolutely amazing. I’m blown away with the quality of this beverage. It’s so complex, deep, rich and wonderful.

On tap at Ortinos Northside. Pours a deep brown with ruby/amber notes and a smaller bubbly tan head. Aroma of dark fruits, molasses, cherry, Belgian yeast, brown sugar and lots of fruity notes. Flavor of dark fruits, sweet and malty, touch if tartness, some cherry, Belgian yeast. On the sweet side, low carbonation.

11.2 oz bottle with the new graphics. Pours dark mahogany with amber edging. A beige head of a half-inch rose up with a longish pour. Traces of finely beaded lacework throughout the glass, with whisps on the surface. Aromatics lead off with rum-soaked raisins, caramel, nougat, vanilla, and fresh figs. Alcohol warms the nose and dark fruits step forward. Medium bodied with a creamy mouthfeel. Slickish and slightly chewy. Dark rum, plump raisins, toffee, and a hint of Kahlua start the pallet. Drizzeled caramel, cocoa-dusted fruit, and warming alcohol follow through. Finishes with lingering figs, dark rum, caramel, and brown sugar. Pretty damn flawless and tasting like a real freshie. Quite a bit of fresh dough and lively hops (for a quad). Way too drinkable.

In the bottle at the 2008 Crescent Moon Extreme Beerfest. This was surprisingly thick. Pours dark brown with a light brown head. There’s a great malty thickness to this flavor. Lots of chocolate and raisins. Really great.

Bottle. Brown-red body. Aroma has chocolat, sugar, malt, syrup and a earthy tone. Flavor is from burnt sugar, syrup, malt, chocolat and has a burnin´ hot tone frome alcohol.